Pokémon Champions' new competitive format, Regulation Set M-B, began a week ago. With no official tournaments between now and the 2026 World Championships, many Video Game Championships (VGC) competitors will be participating in grassroots tournaments throughout these months to help them figure out how the format will develop, and which new teams, Pokémon, and Mega Evolutions will be the strongest.
All tournament results seen below used the Regulation Set M-B ruleset, restricting teams to the 76 Mega Evolutions and 208 Pokémon species currently available in Pokémon Champions. Tapping on a team will show you each Pokémon's ability, held item, moves, and stat alignment where possible. Any team or replica code shown below can be used in Pokémon Champions' online and offline events while Regulation Set M-B runs from 17 June to 2 September 2026.
Coupe Critique #3
The Coupe Critique #3 featured 128 players, and took place on 21 June 2026. The tournament was won by 2024 Stuttgart Regional Champion Lorenzo Silvestrini alongside the newly-added Gholdengo.Only one new Mega Evolution features in the Top 8, being the brand-new Mega Pyroar, a Mega Evolution that many players didn't have much faith in. Paired with Ninetales, Mega Pyroar can do huge damage with its Fire-type attacks boosted by its signature ability Fire Mane, boosted further by the harsh sunlight set up by Ninetales' ability Drought, and boosted once more with Ninetales having the option to use Fake Tears to drop its target's Special Defense stat by two stages. With all of these damage multipliers on top of a great base Speed stat, Mega Pyroar can knock out even the bulkiest Pokémon in the format before they can move with hard-hitting attacks like Heat Wave or Overheat.
The most obvious theme of this Top 8, however, is that Regulation Set M-B will not be very different from the previous format, Regulation Set M-A. With only a handful of new Pokémon and Mega Evolutions, we're seeing the same teams and the same Pokémon dominate these tournaments: Mega Charizard Y, Mega Floette, Basculegion, Kingambit, Garchomp, Whimsicott, and so on. Even the less common teams, such as the Mega Floette and Mega Delphox teams in 2nd and 3rd place, both originate from and were popularised by the previous format's tournaments, being the 2026 Turin Regionals in this case.
# | Trainer | Pokémon | |
Team | Replica Code | ||
1st | Lorenzo Silvestrini | | ⨉ |
2nd | Dryster | | ⨉ |
Top 4 | Redsilver | | ⨉ |
Bartho | | ⨉ | |
Top 8 | Corentin Riviere | | ⨉ |
Lyfix | | ⨉ | |
Martinus_03 | | ⨉ | |
B2K | | ⨉ | |
Maddo's Cup #9
Maddo's Cup #9 featured 234 players, and took place on 20 June 2026. The tournament was won by Danilo Modugno alongside the newly-added Mega Swampert and Gholdengo.Following the trend of the harsh sunlight consistently being the best weather condition throughout the previous format, some new Pokémon and new Mega Evolutions have helped to make rain teams much stronger. For example, Danilo Modugno won this event with Mega Swampert and Gholdengo appearing on a bulky rain team. Trainer Coccobello opts for a more offensive team with some remaining defensive elements; Mega Raichu Y and Basculegion both threaten to deal huge damage before their opponents can move, whereas Mega Venusaur and Archaludon moreso appreciate support from Grimmsnarl.
Following two Top 4 placements at the 2018 and 2019 World Championships, Mega Metagross returns to VGC in Regulation Set M-B with two Top 8 placements in this grassroots tournament. Definitely impressive, but perhaps lacking the power it once had in previous formats, threatened by newcomers Basculegion, Kingambit, and Gholdengo.
# | Trainer | Pokémon | |
Team | Replica Code | ||
1st | Danilo Modugno | | ⨉ |
2nd | Brent Santiago | | ⨉ |
Top 4 | Lorenzaooo | | ⨉ |
ResolveVGC | | ⨉ | |
Top 8 | die_kampfstube | | ⨉ |
Wouttonethestronger | | ⨉ | |
F3RR001 | | ⨉ | |
Coccobello | | ⨉ | |
Top 16 | MEGA_Meganium | | ⨉ |
Jagor | | ⨉ | |
TedWinners | | ⨉ | |
RingoPK | | ⨉ | |
João Paulo Farias Nascimento | | ⨉ | |
Hawaii | | ⨉ | |
Esparzzz | | ⨉ | |
AlPATRIOTS | | ⨉ | |
Crown Fight Bo3 Tour #73
The Crown Fight Bo3 Tour #73 featured 143 players, and took place on 19 June 2026. The tournament was won by a trainer by the name of Gotou alongside the newly-added Mega Metagross.These results follow the same trends as seen above; a lot of the strongest Pokémon in the previous format are still dominating the game, rain sees some better placements than previous tournaments, and new Pokémon like Mega Metagross, Grimmsnarl, and Gholdengo seem to be holding on to consistently good results.
# | Trainer | Pokémon | |
Team | Replica Code | ||
1st | Gotou | | ⨉ |
2nd | Madeline Tynan | | ⨉ |
Top 4 | die_kampfstube | | ⨉ |
Altkyle | | ⨉ | |
Top 8 | Simoeldiablo | | ⨉ |
Leon000 | | ⨉ | |
Giovanni Nisi | | ⨉ | |
Buizom | | ⨉ | |
r/VGC Regulation M-B Kickoff Cup
The r/VGC Regulation M-B Kickoff Cup featured 232 players, and took place on 18 June 2026. A trainer by the name of Snorlaxpikachu1 won the tournament alongside the brand-new Mega Pyroar.As described above, Mega Pyroar seems to have cemented itself as one of the strongest new Mega Evolutions, somehow managing to win this entire event. The big question is whether or not Mega Pyroar's wins are due to its recent addition to the game giving it an element of volatility, or whether it can prove itself to be consistent enoguh to reach a strong finish at the 2026 World Championships later this year.
Notably, many of the more hyped-up Mega Evolutions seem to be underperforming compared to the expectations placed on them. Mega Staraptor peaks at a respectable Top 8, while Mega Raichu Y peaks in the Top 16 thanks to 2016 World Champion Wolfe Glick. This trend continues into the current-largest grassroots tournaments of the format, with Mega Staraptor not even managing to reach the Top 64 of the 2026 Smogon VGC Major, and peaking in the Top 16 of the 2026 Victory Road June Challenge #2. Mega Raichu Y similarly reaches the Top 8 of the former event, but fails to reach Day 2 of the latter tournament.
This tournament also showcases the return of iconic combinations of Pokémon in VGC. Hirseknabe's 2nd place team features Torkoal and Vileplume, with the former setting up the harsh sunlight with its ability Drought, activating Vileplume's ability Chlorophyll to double its Speed stat. Suddenly becoming the fastest Pokémon on the field, Vileplume can then use After You on its teammate Torkoal to allow it to move immediately after it, hitting their opponents with max-strength Eruptions before they can move. KoelSaul's Top 4 team showcases a combination known as "MausApe", in which Maushold uses the multi-hit move Beat Up on its teammate Annihilape to increase the damage of its signature move Rage Fist, which is a Ghost-type attack that deals more damage depending on how many times Annihilape has taken damage. Maushold can also use Follow Me to redirect damage away from Annihilape while it boosts its Attack and Defense stats with Bulk Up, and its ability Friend Guard reduces the damage Annihilape takes even further.
# | Trainer | Pokémon | |
Team | Replica Code | ||
1st | Snorlaxpikachu1 | | ⨉ |
2nd | Hirseknabe | | H4S1K 5J6NA |
Top 4 | KoelSaul | | ⨉ |
porygon2 | | ⨉ | |
Top 8 | saikovgc | | ⨉ |
godey95 | | ⨉ | |
washy | | ⨉ | |
MiniMitre | | ⨉ | |
Top 16 | Wolfe Glick | | |
Gingersnap | | ⨉ | |
Rhymar | | ⨉ | |
HortonHEARD | | ⨉ | |
LenVGC | | ⨉ | |
Dialing | | ⨉ | |
Suikenuser | | ⨉ | |
Prongs | | ⨉ | |
Sitrus-Series #63
The Sitrus-Series #63 tournament featured exactly 100 players, and took place on 17 June 2026, the first day of the Regulation Set M-B ruleset. A trainer by the name of BHelixB won the tournament, using none of the format's new Pokémon. However, noting the addition of new held items, Garchomp is holding the Life Orb held item to further boost its damage.An interesting team from this grassroots tournament is AlexShyness' Top 8 team featuring Mega Charizard Y and Mega Mawile. It features a faster mode of gameplay with Mega Charizard Y and Venusaur threatening huge damage and disruption respectively, as well as a Trick Room mode with Farigiraf, Torkoal, and the newly-added Mega Mawile. The latter's addition to the game will undoubtedly be a huge buff to teams with the option to use Trick Room, especially since this archetype greatly struggled to land meaningful placements throughout the previous format.
# | Trainer | Pokémon | |
Team | Replica Code | ||
1st | BHelixB | | ⨉ |
2nd | AndreVGC | | ⨉ |
Top 4 | quivern | | ⨉ |
SleepySilverVGC | | YRYU1 TUSLG | |
Top 8 | Skraw | | ⨉ |
AlexShyness | | V8PLV YE99L | |
Teach_12 | | ⨉ | |
FelipeT | | ⨉ | |
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